Wednesday, 18 December 2013

Canada seems to be
having a bit of an industrial rock revival with the likes of Project
F and now 22Hertz reviving the Nothing Records and Wax Trax gritty
formulas of the 90s. 22Hertz's début album 'Detonate' is full of
sleazy and scathing synths nailed to memorable riffs and sing-along
choruses. Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie and Marilyn Manson's
influences are easy to hear, but so are the likes of KMFDM, gODHEAD
and Two.

But this isn't a
nostalgic trip back to the era of dial-up internet and when MTV
actually played music videos. 22Hertz have a well-rounded and
developed sound all of their own that taps into what was a growing
hole in the scene.

Tracks like 'Give Me A
Sign', 'Into This', 'Getting Through', 'Everything' and 'Detonate'
display a fine balance between hard guitar riffs, dissonant synths
and frantic beats while maintaining a danceable tempo and unwavering
bass groove. Overall formula of which is akin to a mixture of Nine
Inch Nails' 'The Downward Spiral' and 'Fragile', with the more
conventional structures of gODHEAD's '2000 Years Of Human Error', as
well as nods to John 5's guitar work and some KMFDM style
programming. The undoubted centrepiece of the album though is the
NIN-esque instrumental 'The Signal In The Noise' with it's haunting
drones and de-tuned piano bringing to mind the likes of 'A Warm
Place' and the 'Still' mini-album.

Overall the production
quality of the album is pretty good. It's clean and modern sounding
and avoids the perils of distorted synths and guitars swamping each
other. That being said, there are a few points where the vocals sound
too low in the mix. And there is a sense that even though the album
has ultimately received the necessary “spit and polish” prior to
release, it could have done with a little more in the way of spit.

22Hertz ultimately
though have a very solid and impressive début here. At nine tracks
and 40 minutes in length, 'Detonate' doesn't wear out it's welcome,
and leaves the listener wanting more. With the right backing there is
no reason why 22Hertz couldn't make a serious name for themselves.